The M&A market is still very robust; we finished 2012 strong and remain strong. The overall prediction is a continued bullishness in 2013, and we're seeing that in the market.

In Southeast Michigan, auto is a large part of the market, but we're seeing a number of deals in health care and other tangential areas increasing.

There's an overall robustness in the M&A markets, largely due to the fact that there is so much cash on balance sheets and there's interest growing in making deals.

Our M&A group has been busier this quarter than it's been in a few years.

Will the recent surge in the stock market help push deals this year?

It's certainly having an overall impact on the sentiment and mood, as the market continues to be buoyed by sentiment. There's been a lot of press and good feelings out there. The fact that company stocks are approaching 52-week highs, that helps exponentially. There's a lot of activity, and companies are looking for reasons to grow inorganically.

Have the nuances of deals changed?

Dealmakers are more creative in the way a deal is structured.

There's an increase in companies looking to create capital. Spinoffs increased 45 percent last year, and we expect them to be a large piece of the business in 2013.

Also, the impacts of the federal tax hikes are affecting sellers, particularly private sellers. People who missed the window on making a deal happen last year are now starting to see the tax implications and are assessing whether now is the time to exit.

We're also seeing sellers becoming a bit savvier. They are realizing that there is value to be gained from a divestiture. There's a number of reasons to divest: underperformance, noncore, nonstrategic, etc. In the past, if it was underperforming, they wanted to get rid of it to stop the bleeding. But now they understand there's value to buyers, even if it's not valuable to them. There has been more diligence on how to ensure they don't lose value because they weren't as prepared as the buyer is on negotiating.